Including Velocity Control Patents (Class 318/568.18)
  • Patent number: 8093855
    Abstract: A low speed control method and an apparatus for a servo motor. The control apparatus comprises: an encoder capable of acquiring a speed signal from a servo motor and encoding the speed signal to output a low-resolution encoded signal; an insertion calculation unit capable of receiving the low-resolution encoded signal from the encoder to be processed by an interpolation operation for converting the low-resolution encoded signal into a high-resolution encoded signal to be outputted therefrom; a servo control chip capable of setting internal parameters and receiving the high-resolution encoded signal from the insertion calculation unit to be processed by a calculation process so as to output a switch control instruction; and a power module capable of receiving the switch control instruction from the servo control chip and then transmitting the same to the servo motor for adjusting the operation speed of the servo motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventors: Chia-Min Ting, Hsin-Hung Chou, Chiu-Pao Tien, Cheng-Min Chang, Ya-Ling Chang
  • Patent number: 8005572
    Abstract: An apparatus provides selective communication between multiple programmable robot controllers and one or more teaching devices connected by a network. The network controls communication between the teaching devices and the controllers including active tasks and passive tasks for preventing communication of active tasks between any of the controllers and more than one of any of the teaching devices. The network permits communication of the passive tasks between any of the controllers and one of the teaching devices communicating active tasks with another one of the controllers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Fanuc Robotics America, Inc.
    Inventors: Judy A. Evans, Kenneth W. Krause, Glenn F Nowak
  • Patent number: 7977906
    Abstract: Described is a fault-tolerant electro-mechanical system that is able to saccade to a target by training and using a signal processing technique. The invention enables tracking systems, such as next generational cameras, to be developed for autonomous platforms and surveillance systems where environment conditions are unpredictable. The invention includes at least one sensor configured to relay a signal containing positional information of a stimulus. At least one actuator is configured to manipulate the sensor to enable the sensor to track the stimulus. A processing device is configured to receive positional information from each sensor and each actuator. The processing device sends a positional changing signal to at least one actuator and adjusts at least one positional changing signal according to the information from each sensor and each actuator to enable the actuator to cause the sensor to track the stimulus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2011
    Assignee: HRL Laboratories, LLC
    Inventors: Narayan Srinivasa, Youngkwan Cho
  • Patent number: 7974738
    Abstract: A virtual track or rail system and method is described for execution by a robot. A user, through a user interface, generates a desired path comprised of at least one segment representative of the virtual track for the robot. Start and end points are assigned to the desired path and velocities are also associated with each of the at least one segment of the desired path. A waypoint file is generated including positions along the virtual track representing the desired path with the positions beginning from the start point to the end point including the velocities of each of the at least one segment. The waypoint file is sent to the robot for traversing along the virtual track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC
    Inventors: David J. Bruemmer, Douglas A. Few, Miles C. Walton
  • Patent number: 7965055
    Abstract: A control device of a work positioning apparatus includes an operating limit line storage unit for storing position coordinates of an operating limit line, a speed reduction zone storage unit for storing a width of a speed reduction zone ranging from a reduction start position to the operating limit line, a check point storage unit for storing position coordinates of check points set in the work, a check point updating unit for determining position coordinates of the check points moved in accordance with an operation of the work positioning apparatus by calculation, an in-speed-reduction-zone determining unit for determining whether the check points enter the speed reduction zone in accordance with the updated position coordinates of the check points, and a work positioning apparatus control unit for instructing a work positioning apparatus motor to reduce a speed if the check points are determined to enter the speed reduction zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Kobe Steel, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Koike, Masayuki Shigeyoshi, Masaki Shibaike
  • Patent number: 7848849
    Abstract: A controller of a leg type moving robot determines an action force to be input to an object dynamic model 2 such that a motion state amount (object model velocity) of the object dynamic model 2 follows a desired motion state amount based on a moving plan of an object, and also determines a manipulated variable of the motion state amount (object model velocity) of the object dynamic model 2 such that the difference between an actual object position and a desired object position approximates zero, and then inputs the determined action force and manipulated variable to the object dynamic model 2 to sequentially determine the desired object position. Further, a desired object reaction force to a robot from the object is determined from the determined reaction force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Tadaaki Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 7835822
    Abstract: Systems and methods are presented that enable a legged robot to maintain its balance when subjected to an unexpected force. In the reflex phase, the robot withstands the immediate effect of the force by yielding to it. In one embodiment, during the reflex phase, the control system determines an instruction that will cause the robot to perform a movement that generates a negative rate of change of the robot's angular momentum at its centroid in a magnitude large enough to compensate for the destabilizing effect of the force. In the recovery phase, the robot recovers its posture after having moved during the reflex phase. In one embodiment, the robot returns to a statically stable upright posture that maximizes the robot's potential energy. In one embodiment, during the recovery phase, the control system determines an instruction that will cause the robot to perform a movement that increases its potential energy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ambarish Goswami, Muhammad E. Abdallah
  • Patent number: 7812558
    Abstract: There is provided a driving apparatus of an electric motor for a reduction roll that can improve maximization of rolling performance and a speed decrease amount by making maximal use of torque that various electric motors can generate during material entry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systgems Corporation
    Inventors: Ryuzo Mori, Wataru Fukushima, Katsuhiko Fukuma, Takashi Ishida
  • Patent number: 7795834
    Abstract: A controller includes a rotating direction detecting unit 34 to detect the rotating direction of a servo motor 6, a reversing distance computing unit 31 to compute a rotating angle of the servo motor 6, a rotation resistance computing unit 35 to compute rotation resistance on the servo motor side 6, and an elastic deformation error amount computing unit 21 to compute a deformation error amount of a ball screw 3. In the controller, when the rotating direction detecting unit 34 detects reverse of the servo motor 6, the rotation resistance computing unit 35 computes rotation resistance based on a rotating angle ?? of the servo motor 6 after the servo motor is reversed. The elastic deformation error amount computing unit 21 computes the elastic deformation error amount ? based on the computed rotation resistance. Thereby, a position command value inputted into the position control unit 14 can be corrected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Okuma Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Norihisa
  • Patent number: 7756602
    Abstract: An entertainment system is for a vehicle and includes a vehicle environment sensor apparatus that captures data indicative of the vehicle's environment and that generates a vehicle environment data feed. A video game console is electronically coupled to the vehicle environment sensor apparatus and has an application program interface. The video game console receives the vehicle environment data feed, operates a game medium, and generates a video output signal based on both the game medium and the vehicle environment data feed. At least one controller is communicatively coupled to the video game console and directs the operation of the game medium. A display unit communicatively coupled with the application program interface receives the video output signal and displays images dependent upon the video output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America division of Panasonic Corporation of North America
    Inventors: Jeremy Koempel, Seung Chan Lim, Michael McManus
  • Patent number: 7751935
    Abstract: A method of controlling vibration of a moving system having driving and driven units includes measuring an acceleration of the driven unit, generating a nominal acceleration by subtracting gravity from the measured acceleration, generating a control driving force according to the nominal acceleration, the driving force having a direction opposite to that of the measured acceleration, and applying the control driving force to the driven unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: Samsung Electronic Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Joo-young Kwak, Yong-kwun Lee, Young Son, Chang-hyun Roh
  • Patent number: 7741802
    Abstract: A medical robotic system has a robot arm holding an instrument for performing a medical procedure, and a control system for controlling movement of the arm and its instrument according to user manipulation of a master manipulator. The control system includes at least one joint controller that includes a controller having programmable parameters for setting a steady-state velocity error and a maximum acceleration error for the joint's movement relative to a set point in response to an externally applied and released force.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
    Inventors: Giuseppe M. Prisco, David J. Rosa, David. Q Larkin
  • Patent number: 7729821
    Abstract: When dot-sequential data indicating a temporal variation in position, speed, or acceleration is stored in a memory in an automated guided vehicle as it is, the capacity of the memory is insufficient and thus needs to be increased. A pattern is mounted in a stacker crane 1; the pattern is drawn by dot-sequential data indicating a temporal variation in acceleration (FIG. 2C), and corresponds to an instruction value provided to an actuator installed in the stacker crane 1. In this case, a curve function corresponding to an approximate expression for the dot-sequential data is derived in a form of a Fourier series having a finite number of terms and using time as an independent variable and the position, speed, or acceleration as a dependent variable. Data identifying the Fourier series, having a finite number of terms, is stored in a memory 5 mounted in the stacker crane 1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Murata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiki Moriguchi, Takeshi Murakami
  • Patent number: 7729805
    Abstract: There is provided a travel time display device for an industrial robot which can display travel time on the screen such that time taken for moving a work from any designated starting point to any other point can be seen at a glance. The travel time display device includes: a display for displaying on the screen the location of the industrial robot and an area in which the industrial robot can transport the work; a position designator for designating a travel starting point of the industrial robot at an arbitrary position on the display screen; a calculator for setting a plurality of time intervals with respect to necessary travel time from the travel starting point and calculating a travelable area, to be displayed on the display screen; and a display for depicting the travelable areas with a visual discrimination between the travelable areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2010
    Assignee: Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kazuhiro Katsumata
  • Patent number: 7664570
    Abstract: The safety in robotic operations is enhanced and the floor space in a factory or the like is effectively utilized. A virtual safety barrier 50 including the trajectory of movement of a work or tool 7 mounted on a wrist 5 of a robot 1 in operation is defined in a memory. At least two three-dimensional spatial regions S (S1 to S3) including a part of the robot including the work or tool are defined. Predicted positions of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions obtained by trajectory calculations are matched with the virtual safety barrier 50, and if the predicted position of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions based on trajectory calculations is included in the virtual safety barrier 50, a control is effected to stop the movement of the robot arms 3 and 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazutsugu Suita, Morihiko Okura
  • Patent number: 7659997
    Abstract: Linear sensors are provided in two rows along a moving route of a moving body. A relative position of a magnet provided in the moving body relative to the linear sensor is determined, and an origin coordinate of the linear sensor is added to the determined relative position to determine an absolute position of the moving body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
    Inventor: Kikuo Hori
  • Patent number: 7660650
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a self-propelled working robot, including a first distance sensor 4a and a second distance sensor 4b (4c) for measuring the distance to an obstacle W in front of the robot. The robot includes first determination means for comparing a first measured distance Dc to the obstacle obtained by the first distance sensor 4a with a predetermined first threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle W, second determination means for comparing a second measured distance Dr (DL) to the obstacle W obtained by the second distance sensor 4b (4c) with a predetermined second threshold value to determine the proximity to the obstacle, and changing means for changing the first or second threshold value based on information regarding an inclination angle of the obstacle W obtained from the first and second measured distances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2010
    Assignee: Figla Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobukazu Kawagoe, Shiegeru Oyokota
  • Patent number: 7598696
    Abstract: A surgical apparatus and method according to which an assembly is connected to a handpiece and includes a sensing element and a member adapted to move relative to the sensing element to control the operation of a motor in the handpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2009
    Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
    Inventors: Cameron McPherson, Rex W. Shores, Mitchell Sherry
  • Patent number: 7583044
    Abstract: A servo control system micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based motion control system (and method therefor), includes a motion generator having an inherent stiffness component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sri M. Sri-Jayantha, Hien Dang, Arun Sharma, Evangelos S. Eleftheriou, Mark A. Lantz, Charalampos Pozidis
  • Patent number: 7561941
    Abstract: An ambulatory robot including a lower body part having two or more legs and an upper body part installed on an upper end of the lower body part and capable of performing positional displacement by moving the lower body part, includes slope-detection means for sensing a slope of a floor, rotating means installed on a bottom surface of each of the two or more legs, and control means for controlling a motion of the ambulatory robot using the lower and upper body parts, wherein the control means controls a speed of revolution of the rotating means based on the slope of the floor, and controls the motion of the ambulatory robot so that the positional displacement of the ambulatory robot is performed by any of running, walking and sliding, depending on the controlled speed of revolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2009
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Woong Kwon, Suk-han Lee
  • Patent number: 7508146
    Abstract: A dual fan module system 28 includes a two-speed electric motor 12 for operating a first fan 36, a one-speed electric motor 14 for operating a second fan 38, and switching structure K1, K2, K3, and K4 constructed and arranged to operate the system at more than two different speeds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, WĂĽrzburg
    Inventors: Attila Simofi-Ilyes, Andrew Lakerdas, Mike Toner, Alex Gubbels, Jahan Kargar
  • Patent number: 7479751
    Abstract: A method is employed to eliminate undesired velocity reversal in a motion profile. A start speed, a start acceleration, a speed limit, an acceleration limit, a deceleration limit, an acceleration jerk limit, and a deceleration jerk limit are programmed for the motion profile. A critical jerk value needed to avoid velocity reversal associated with the motion profile is calculated. The critical jerk value is compared to the programmed deceleration jerk limit. The larger of the critical jerk value and the programmed deceleration jerk limit is set as a computed maximum deceleration jerk limit for use with the motion profile. In this manner, the computed maximum deceleration jerk limit will never be lower than the critical jerk and undesired velocity reversal is eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2009
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Bohumir Sladek, Jacob Strickler Baker
  • Patent number: 7471056
    Abstract: A control device includes a first switch (400) by which an input signal to a motor speed control loop (910) is selected from a signal of a position control loop (300) and a signal of the speed control loop (200), and a switch controller (500) that controls switching of the first switch (400), so that the first switch (400) can switch between a quadruple loop (a current control loop, the motor speed control loop, the speed control loop (200) and the position control loop (300)) with the speed control loop (200) embedded therein, and a triple loop (the current control loop, the motor speed control loop and the position control loop (300)) without the speed control loop (200), corresponding to a transient state and a steady state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Mitutoyo Corporation
    Inventors: Shingo Kiyotani, Nobuhiro Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20080303473
    Abstract: A robot control apparatus for soft control operation of a robot has position and velocity control loops for each control axis of the robot. The position control gain and the velocity control gain of a specified control axis in soft control operation is set lower than those of the other control axes. The orientation of the forward end of the robot arm to be assumed while following an external force, i.e., the orientation thereof immediately before starting the follow-up operation is determined. The position command or the velocity command for the control axes other than the specified control axis, which are determined based on the present position of the specified control axis moved by the external force applied to the forward end of the robot arm, the direction to follow the external force and the orientation immediately before starting the follow-up operation, is applied to the control loop of the particular control axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 4, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Applicant: FANUC LTD
    Inventors: Tetsuaki KATO, Teruki Kuroshita
  • Publication number: 20080297092
    Abstract: A control apparatus (10) for a machining robot (1) adapted to machine a workpiece (20) by coming into contact with an effector (19) of a tool (18) attached to the machining robot with the workpiece comprises: detecting means (15) for detecting a force or moment acting between the effector of the tool and the workpiece; converting means (22) for converting the force or moment detected by the detecting means into a force or moment acting on the joint axis of the machining robot; deflection calculating means (25) for calculating a deflection occurring at the joint axis of the machining robot on the basis of the force or moment acting on the joint axis of the machining robot and obtained from the converting means; and correcting means (28) for correcting at least one of a position command or a speed command for the joint axis of the machining robot in such a manner as to compensate for the deflection calculated by the deflection calculating means.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2008
    Publication date: December 4, 2008
    Applicant: FANUC LTD
    Inventors: Ryo NIHEI, Tetsuaki Kato, Teruki Kuroshita
  • Patent number: 7457686
    Abstract: A method for aligning the position of a movable arm includes: providing an alignment element on the apparatus projecting a distance above the apparatus in the z-direction and having a surface lying in a plane formed by an x and y axis; providing a movable arm having a tool at the free end; positioning the object such that the surface of the element faces the tool; moving the tool in a direction towards the surface of the element; sensing when the tool reaches a predetermined point on or above the surface of the element, whereby the position of the tool in the z-direction is determined based on the relationship between the measured response of the tool and the height of the tool above the surface of the alignment element; placing the tool on or at a distance in the z-direction from the surface; moving the tool in the x-direction while sensing the surface of the element; moving the tool in the x-direction until an edge of the element is sensed; determining the center in the x-direction based on the known distan
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2008
    Assignee: Ortho—Clinical Diagnostics, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhong Ding, Ed Graham
  • Patent number: 7408314
    Abstract: An encoder 13 determines the remaining travel distance of a stacker crane to perform deceleration control. When a linear sensor 8 determines an absolute distance from the stop position, the linear sensor 8 performs deceleration control, and when a mark sensor 26 detects a mark 36, the mark sensor 26 performs stop control. Likewise, deceleration control is performed based on the remaining elevation distance determined by an encoder 19. When a linear sensor 9 determines an absolute distance from the stop position, the linear sensor 9 performs deceleration control, and when the mark sensor 26 detects the mark 36, the mark sensor 26 performs stop control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Murata Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takao Hayashi
  • Patent number: 7394218
    Abstract: A servo control system micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based motion control system (and method therefor), includes a motion generator having an inherent stiffness component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sri M. Sri-Jayantha, Hien Dang, Arun Sharma, Evangelos S. Eleftheriou, Mark A. Lantz, Charalampos Pozidis
  • Patent number: 7292910
    Abstract: A method for machining workpieces by means of a multiaxial manipulator, such as an industrial robot, with a tool moved proportionally by a control unit of the manipulator and which can perform characteristic movements with several degrees of freedom is characterized in that the degrees of freedom of the tool are evaluated together with the degrees of freedom of axes of the manipulator in real time for moving a tool tip (TCP) in accordance with a predetermined, continuous machining path or a portionwise continuous machining geometry (step function) and for determining a movement of the manipulator. The invention also proposes a device suitable for performing the aforementioned method, in which the tool and a tool tip, during workpiece machining, are movement-controllable by the manipulator control unit. In this way it is possible to drastically reduce the overall machining time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: KUKA Roboter GmbH
    Inventor: Peter Gmeiner
  • Patent number: 7253578
    Abstract: There is provided a pivoting apparatus of an industrial robot including: a brake 40 that is fixed to a motor shaft 30s of a motor 30 to halt the motor 30; an encoder 50 that is fixed to the motor shaft 30s to detect the pivoting angle of the motor 30; a speed reducer 60 that is coupled with the motor shaft 30s to form a communicating hollow portion, that is fixed to and coupled with a pivoting-side arm 20, and that reduces the rotation speed of the motor 30; a pipe-supporting bearing 72 that is provided in a fixed-side arm 10 and that is communicated with the communicating hollow portion; and a low-speed pivoting pipe 70 whose one end is fixed to and coupled with the pivoting-side arm 20 and the other end of which is fixed to the pipe-supporting bearing 72, and through which a cable 80 is wired.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshitaka Kumagai, Tomoyuki Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 7212886
    Abstract: A robot control apparatus including a motion torque calculating section for calculating a motion torque command which is required for a motion of a servo motor, a disturbance torque estimating section for calculating a disturbance torque, a minute displacement relationship calculating section for calculating a minute displacement relationship between a task coordinate system of a robot and a joint coordinate system of the servo motor, an external force calculating section for carrying out a conversion to an external force on the task coordinate system, a force control section for calculating a position correction amount on the task coordinate system of the robot, and a joint angle correction amount calculating section for carrying out a conversion to a joint angle correction amount on the joint coordinate system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventors: Hideo Nagata, Kenichi Yasuda, Yasuyuki Inoue
  • Patent number: 7205743
    Abstract: A controller for controlling a position of a driven element with respect to a machine effecting end so as to be in accord with a command. An acceleration sensor is mounted to a member of the machine effecting end to which a tool is attached. Acceleration detected by the sensor is subjected to second-order integration by a torsion estimator to obtain displacement ?? of the machine effecting end from the original position. Position feedback P1 of a driven element is subtracted from position command Pc to obtain first position deviation ?1. The displacement ?? is added to the first position deviation ?1 to obtain second position deviation ?2. The second position deviation ?2 is subjected to learning control of a learning controller to obtain a correction value, which is added to the first position deviation ?1 to obtain velocity command Vc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd
    Inventors: Yasusuke Iwashita, Yukio Toyozawa, Naoto Sonoda
  • Patent number: 7193385
    Abstract: A digital controller is easily implemented for variable speed or torque control of an electric motor or generator by using a comparator to determine a choice of control state outputs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Illinois Institute of Technology
    Inventors: Ali Emadi, Fernando Rodriguez, Piyush C. Desai
  • Patent number: 7138784
    Abstract: Optimized pulse commands are utilized for reducing vibration in a step motor, the optimized commands being created by correcting position, velocity, acceleration, deceleration, and movement distance terms of a basic motion profile with position feedback information generated during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Oriental Motor Boston Technology Group Incorporated
    Inventor: Masayuki Someya
  • Patent number: 7129665
    Abstract: A control apparatus for a machine that can be operated at high precision in a stable control state is provided by driving a movable body with control parameters suited to the mechanical state. A control parameter calculation circuit is provided to obtain control parameters for a drive apparatus control circuit for driving actuators in accordance with the conditions of actuator rotational velocity, the orientation of the movable body, and the position of the movable body, and a control parameter K for the drive apparatus control circuit is varied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2006
    Assignee: OKUMA Corporation
    Inventor: Tomoharu Ando
  • Patent number: 7119511
    Abstract: A servo control system for a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based motion control system (and method therefor), includes a motion generator having an inherent stiffness component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sri M. Sri-Jayantha, Hien Dang, Arun Sharma, Evangelos S. Eleftheriou, Mark A. Lantz, Charalampos Pozidis
  • Patent number: 7050862
    Abstract: When a position/speed feedback changes while a control system for driving a feed axis uses an integration gain during a shaft stopping, the control system goes unstable to cause a torque instruction to vibrate or diverge. In addition, only a single, narrow-range feed speed can be accommodated to find an out-of-range speed to be insufficient or excessive in compensation effects. After detecting the movement reversal of a feed axis, a control loop is modeled, a virtual internal model computing unit (21) using a constant separate from a constant used in a control loop is configured, a virtual torque instruction (22) computed by this computing unit (21) is added to a torque instruction (16) for driving the feed axis, this adding is terminated when the virtual torque instruction (22) reaches a specified value, and a value (25) of an integrator in a virtual internal model at the adding termination is added to the integrator (14) corresponding to a position/speed feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2006
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventors: Keizo Akamatsu, Kazuhiro Tsuruta
  • Patent number: 7042185
    Abstract: A robot control apparatus to control an operation path of a robot includes an interpolator including a rough interpolation processor to output a rough velocity signal of no-acceleration and no-deceleration according to input commands, a plurality of acceleration/deceleration processors to receive the rough velocity signal from the rough interpolation processor and to perform acceleration and deceleration in sequence, and an inverse kinematics processor to transform the velocity signal received from the acceleration/deceleration processor into a joint velocity signal for the robot, and a controller to control the robot according to the accelerated/decelerated velocity signal received from the interpolator. In a robot control apparatus and a control method thereof, precision about an operation path of a robot is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2006
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seung-won Yang, Phil-joo Cho
  • Patent number: 7039494
    Abstract: A controller that eliminates an error caused by acceleration/deceleration control, and controls the velocity of drive axes which is not represented by a rectangular coordinate system such that maximum allowable values of velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the drive axes are not exceeded. A program is analyzed in a command analysis section, and an interpolated position on a motion path in the rectangular coordinate system is determined in a first interpolation section, and then converted by means of a transformation section into drive axes' positions not in the rectangular coordinate system. In a tangential acceleration calculating section, a tangential acceleration is determined. In a velocity limit calculating section, a velocity limit at the time of each position being reached is determined which does not exceed maximum allowable values of velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the drive axes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2006
    Assignee: Fanuc LTD
    Inventors: Toshiaki Otsuki, Soichiro Ide
  • Patent number: 7024276
    Abstract: Learning-type motion control is performed using a hierarchical recurrent neural network. A motion pattern provided through human teaching work is automatically time-serially segmented with the hierarchical recurrent neural network, and the motion control of a machine body is carried out with a combination of the segmented data, whereby various motion patterns can be produced. With the time-serial segmentation, local time-serial patterns and an overall pattern as a combination of the local time-serial patterns are produced. For those motion patterns, indices for static stability and dynamic stability of the machine body, e.g., ZMP stability criteria, are satisfied and hence control stability is ensured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Masato Ito
  • Patent number: 6999851
    Abstract: A robot apparatus and a motion controlling method for the robot apparatus wherein a reflex motion or the like can be performed at a high speed while decreasing the calculation amount of and the concentrated calculation load to a control apparatus. The robot has a control configuration having a hierarchical structure including a higher order central calculation section corresponding to the brain, reflex system control sections corresponding to the vertebra, and servo control systems and actuators corresponding to the muscles. From restrictions to the power consumption and so forth, there is a limitation to increase of the speed of a control cycle of the higher order central calculation section. External force acting upon the machine body is a disturbance input of a high frequency band, and a very high speed control system is required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2006
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Keisuke Kato, Shinji Ishii
  • Patent number: 6943520
    Abstract: Disclosed is a biped walking mobile system which achieves stability without altering a preestablished gait, and a walk controller and control method therefor. The biped walking mobile apparatus includes a gait former for forming gait data and a walk controller for controlling actions of the drive means based on the gait data. The walk controller includes a ZMP compensator, including: a ZMP sensor, a ZMP converter for computing a ZMP target value based on the gait data from the gait former, and a ZMP compensating stage for comparing the actual measurement value of ZMP detected by the ZMP sensor with the ZMP target value from the ZMP converter to modify the targeted angular velocity and acceleration in the gait data and thereby to compensate or correct the ZMP target value. Thus, the targeted angular path of movement in the gait data remains unaltered when the ZMP target value is compensated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: Japan Science and Technology Agency
    Inventors: Takayuki Furuta, Ken Tomiyama, Hiroaki Kitano
  • Patent number: 6933696
    Abstract: There is described an image-forming apparatus having a rotation system constituted by a driving roller, a driven roller and a transfer belt, threaded on both the driving roller and the driven roller. The apparatus includes: a motor to drive the rotation system, a rotational axis of the motor being coupled to the driving roller directly or through a power transmission element disposed between them; a first rotational-velocity controlling section to control a first rotational velocity of the motor; a velocity detecting section to detect a second rotational velocity of the driving roller or the driven roller; and a second rotational-velocity controlling section to also control the first rotational velocity of the motor, based on a detected signal detected by the velocity detecting section. The second rotational-velocity controlling section employs either a feedback controlling method or a feed-forward controlling method to control the first rotational velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Tadayuki Ueda, Hiroyuki Maruyama, Jun Onishi
  • Patent number: 6914402
    Abstract: In a method for operating machines (138) with a plurality of shafts (102, 110, 111), in which the shafts (102, 110, 111) are each driven, synchronized with one another, by individual drive mechanisms (103) belonging to them, in accordance with an electronic, chronological guide shaft function, which corresponds to an instantaneous position of a guide shaft L, and the motions of a plurality of derived shafts (102, 110, 111) are derived from the guide shaft L in accordance with conversion functions that correspond to respective predetermined mechanical conversions (106, 107, 108, 109) with respect to the guide shaft L, it is proposed, in order to improve the method in such a way that—particularly when there is a large number of shafts to be regulated—simple startup at comparatively little expense for equipment is permitted, that all the shafts (102) of at least one group (117) of shafts, which correspond to one another in terms of the conversion (106, 107, 108, 109), obey an electronic, chronological following
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2005
    Assignee: Rexroth Indramat GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Gabler, Karin Steudel, Dieter Staub
  • Patent number: 6909938
    Abstract: A method of and apparatus for synchronous control of a leading element and a follower element in which synchronism is started smoothly and a mechanical shock at the start of synchronism is reduced. When the follower element is started to move to be synchronized with the leading element, motion of the follower element is started before the follower element reaches a start position of the synchronism, and brought into synchronism with the leading element at the start position of synchronism. A positional relationship between the leading element and the follower element in synchronism, and a start position for starting the synchronism of the follower element and the leading element is set. An acceleration control of the follower element is performed between a motion start position preceding the start position of the synchronism and the start position of the synchronism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuo Hishikawa, Takashi Idei, Kentaro Fujibayashi
  • Patent number: 6873490
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for moving a control object, such as a data transducing head in a data storage device, from an initial position to a destination position. A base generation term describes a normalized trajectory (acceleration, velocity, displacement) of the control object away from the initial position and toward the destination position. A control profile is determined in relation to the base generation term as well as in relation to an acceleration distance and an acceleration time, respectively characterized as a displacement distance and an elapsed time during which the control object is accelerated. The control object is then moved in relation to the control profile. The base generation term is preferably stored in a table which is accessed and scaled in relation to the displacement distance (seek length) for the control object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Seagate Technology LLC
    Inventors: HengChang Guo, ChoonHoe Koh
  • Patent number: 6865499
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method and machine are provided for tuning compensation parameters in a motion control system associated with a mechanical member. The method includes the steps of receiving an indication of a compensation parameter to be tested, based on the compensation parameter to be tested causing a signal associated with a desired motion of the mechanical member to be commanded, acquiring control data associated with the signal, acquiring measurement data associated with actual motion of the mechanical member in response to the signal, analyzing the control and measurement data; and based on the step of analyzing the control and measurement data, implementing a value of the compensation parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
    Inventor: Stephen J. Yutkowitz
  • Patent number: 6842651
    Abstract: A programmable controller comprises a speed pattern generator(12) including speed pattern generator units (12a-12n) that respond to input quantities of the amount of movement, speed, acceleration time and deceleration time by calculating a desired speed pattern for output to a servomotor (17). A desired speed pattern is generated by simultaneously operating any of the speed pattern generator units (12a-12n) of the speed pattern generator (12). The speed pattern provided by the speed pattern generator (12) is output to a console (14), on which the user can process the speed pattern freely.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2005
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventor: Youichi Hashimoto
  • Publication number: 20040232867
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling movement of a body includes a position-based velocity profile, at least one mover, a data processor for calculating a next position of the at least one mover using data from the position-based velocity profile and passing a next position signal to the at least one mover, and an actuator for moving the mover to the next position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2003
    Publication date: November 25, 2004
    Inventor: Donald J. Fasen
  • Patent number: 6809491
    Abstract: A position of an object is controlled based on a distance YS until the object is stopped, a target velocity VS of the object, acceleration time ta for accelerating the object, deceleration time td for decelerating the object, velocity variation &Dgr;Va within the acceleration time, and velocity variation &Dgr;Vd within the deceleration time, and a deceleration-start distance YSd. The distance YSd is a distance from where the object is made to start deceleration. The distance YSd is a sum of an integer part YSdq and a decimal part YSdr of the deceleration-start distance. Thus, management of decimal fractions is performed with respect to a pulse generation unit that outputs an output pulse corresponding to the velocity instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuhiro Nakashima, Kiyofumi Funahashi